Most of the foods we eat are often converted into glucose, which is also known as blood sugar. However, to prevent a scenario whereby there is a dangerous buildup of blood sugar levels, the body's mechanism often produces insulin, an essential hormone that is responsible for controlling blood sugar levels.
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Insulin is produced in the pancreas and it serves as a facilitator for the movement of sugar from the blood into body cells for storage. However, when body cells become resistant and fail to store sugar that moves from the blood, the cells would be unable to use insulin effectively, thus leaving blood sugar levels at high levels.
Once the pancreas senses that blood sugar levels are on the high side, it produces more insulin to overcome the resistance and bring down blood sugar levels. If this continues for a long time, a stage would be reached when the production of insulin by the pancreas would be depleted, leading to type 2 diabetes and the subsequent damage of nerves and organs.
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Increasing or boosting your insulin sensitivity then becomes important because it can help you to reduce your risk for many diseases, including diabetes. There are many natural ways of doing this and a few of them include getting more sleep, engagement in more physical activities, reduction of stress, and losing weight.
Food also plays a crucial role in boosting insulin sensitivity as foods can either boost or make your insulin sensitivity worse. Foods that can make insulin sensitivity worse and should be avoided include foods high in added sugars, high-trans fats foods, and high-carbohydrate foods.
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Some foods, however, can boost insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of many diseases, including diabetes. A few of them are described below:
1. Soluble fibre
Fibres are of two types; soluble and insoluble fibre. While insoluble fibres often help to add bulk to foods to move stool through the bowels easily, soluble fibre helps to lower the body's cholesterol levels and reduce appetite. Increased intake of foods with high soluble fibre is particularly linked to increased insulin sensitivity.
Soluble fibre also helps feed the friendly bacteria in the gastrointestinal gut which is linked to a boost in insulin sensitivity. Chief examples of foods with a high content of soluble fibre include legumes, oatmeal, fruits like oranges and vegetables like Brussels sprout.
2. Colourful fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are often touted for their health and nutritional benefits. Specifically, vegetables and fruits that are colourful often have a high concentration of plant compounds with high antioxidant effects, which can help to reduce the risk of many diseases.
The high intake of foods rich in plant compounds is also linked to higher insulin sensitivity and a few examples of such colourful fruits and vegetables include tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, pineapples, bananas, onion, dark leafy vegetables, eggplant, etc.
3. Herbs and spices
Herbs and spices are valued for their medicinal uses and one of such health benefits is their ability to boost insulin sensitivity. For instance, turmeric contains an active compound called curcumin, which has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and the ability to increase insulin sensitivity.
Ginger is rich in an active compound called gingerol which increases insulin sensitivity by making sugar receptors on muscle cells more available, thus increasing sugar uptake by cells. Garlic, on the other hand, is rich in antioxidant compounds that help to increase insulin sensitivity.
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